Surface erosion due to partial discharges on several kinds of epoxy nanocomposites

Abstract

Resistance to partial discharge (PD) was investigated for four kinds of epoxy nanocomposites, an epoxy resin without fillers, and an epoxy resin with SiO/sub 2/ micro-filler. The nano-fillers used were TiO/sub 2/, two different particle sizes of SiO/sub 2/, and layered silicate. Filler content was 5 wt % in all nano- and microcomposites. Such materials were subjected to PDs under a rod-gap-plane electrode. It is concluded that all the nanocomposites are more resistant to PDs than that without fillers and with microfillers. And epoxy/SiO/sub 2/ nanocomposites are more resistant to PDs than the other nanocomposites. Moreover, the epoxy/SiO/sub 2/ nanocomposite of smaller particle size is superior in PD resistance to that of larger size.